WASHINGTON — The Pentagon announced Monday the latest arms package for Ukraine drawn from U.S. inventories, this one totaling $725 million and including the second shipment of anti-personnel mines that President Joe Biden has authorized.
The 71st Presidential Drawdown Authority package is the largest since April, when the administration issued one valued at $1 billion. In addition to the battery-powered “non-persistent” anti-personnel mines, which can be set to deactivate after a certain period of time, the newest package includes air defense missiles and Javelin, TOW and AT-4 anti-armor weapons, counter-drone munitions, 155mm artillery shells and “equipment to protect critical national infrastructure,” according to the Defense Department.
Pentagon officials said last month that the Defense Department had the authority to issue about $6.8 billion from Pentagon inventories, but they have increasingly acknowledged doubt about withdrawing that much from inventories before Biden leaves office in January because of the risk of undermining U.S. readiness.
Asked how the U.S. could issue $6.8 billion in equipment by Jan. 20, Major General Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters earlier Monday that “we understand the urgent situation in Ukraine and the president’s direction and will continue to do everything we can to ensure that Ukraine is getting the aid that it needs.”
In a statement, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that “between now and mid-January, we will deliver hundreds of thousands of additional artillery rounds, thousands of additional rockets, and other critical capabilities to help Ukraine defend its freedom and independence.”
The Biden administration is pressing ahead amid uncertainty about how President-elect Donald Trump will handle U.S. support for Kyiv in its fight against Russia’s invasion. Trump campaigned on a promise to end the war quickly once he takes office. Retired General Keith Kellogg, Trump’s pick for special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, has raised the possibility of cutting off military aid to Kyiv. But he also told Fox News that Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to fire US-made ATACMS missiles inside Russia has “actually given President Trump more leverage.”
Separately, the White House last week asked Congress to provide an additional $24 billion in security assistance for Ukraine as U.S. weapons stocks are dwindling.
The White House is seeking to designate that money as “emergency spending.” The administration requested $8 billion for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which finances long-term weapons contracts with U.S. defense contractors. The remaining $16 billion would be used to replenish U.S. weapons stocks. But the package depends on approval by Congress, which is considered a long shot.
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(With assistance from Larry Liebert and John Harney.)
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